Kent-Drury

English 420

Mary Rowlandson & Captivity Narrative

1. What elements define this genre (i.e., what elements seem to be repeated across many captivity narratives)? Which elements seem to be included because required for the genre, and which are likely to be part of the actual experience of captive?
1. Formal/Structural elements
2. Tropes (repeated elements)
3. Events
2. Find places that describe the attitudes of white captives toward their own culture, their captors, and the landscape around them. Compare the observations of captives with differing national identities, religions, and genders with one another. What commonalities do you find? What differences? Try to be specific.
3. Are there patterns that explain why some captives are killed and some are saved/adopted? What do the captives say?
4. What purposes do the narratives seem to serve in terms of their readership?